A quarry and stone crushing plant in Siġġiewi continues to operate despite several breaches dating back to the 1990s, a resident has told The Sunday Times of Malta after complaints about dust and noise to authorities fell on deaf ears.
Quarry HM30 lies on the boundary with Dingli in spite of two enforcement notices issued in the 1990s as well as a court judgment – confirmed on appeal – finding two of the company’s operators guilty of operating outside of the licence boundaries and conducting works in a scheduled area.
The quarry is surrounded by sites of ecological, archaeological and scientific importance. Salvino Mifsud Bonnici spoke to this newspaper after judicial letters written to the company owners, Mepa’s appeals tribunal and a separate letter to the Police Commissioner went unacknowledged.
“Despite numerous non-compliant acts and illegalities, these quarry operators continue flouting the law. No one seems to have the will to stop them,” Mr Mifsud Bonnici said.
The government recently descheduled an area that has been protected as a Level 3 buffer zone to the coastal cliffs since 1996.
Yet, Charles Abdilla, one of the owners of Ramel u Żrar Limited, said he did not know whether the area that recently lost its protected status was his land.
Mr Mifsud Bonnici said: “As a citizen I cannot help but ask whether the descheduling by the government of part of the site in question… coincidentally a few days before the hearing of appeals, is intended to assist these quarry operators in their appeal?” he said.
The planning authority’s appeals tribunal is to hear the case on October 13 after a permit was refused, even at reconsideration stage.
Mr Abdilla denied irregularities, saying “if we were in breach they would have stopped us”. Mepa has enforcement notices dating back to the 1990s that are still “pending action”.
Mr Abdilla insisted payments for licences were regularly made and accepted by the authorities. “Why would they accept them if we were in breach?” he said.
The quarry owner has a track record of consistent breaches...
When asked, Mepa said it has issued a breach of notice with a daily fine “for the illegal stockpiling... in the scheduled area that can go up to as much as €50 per day if the breach is not removed within the 365 days”.
It was not made clear when the fine was imposed and the daily amount due. On the second enforcement notice, Mepa said the site was being gradually restored as detailed in the enforcement order.
This contains scant details and so it was not clear what exactly was being done.
Mr Abdilla explained the quarry has been operating since the 1980s. The brothers bought the quarry with permits in the early 1990s, he said. Mepa’s case officer had “ulterior motives”, he added, to explain the infringements.
He thinks Mr Mifsud Bonnici’s complaints were unjust. “This guy bought a place here some two years ago. What does he expect? Should we stop operating just because he turned up?” he insisted, dismissing considerations of noise and dust in the area.
Yet the case history supports Mr Mifsud Bonnici’s assertions.
Mepa’s report notes conditions on the quarry’s operation were breached by both the previous and current operators.
The report on the reconsideration also states: “The quarry owner has a track record of consistent breaches apart from the enforcement notices, a judgment by the court of appeal and, on June 19, 2009 the operator was found quarrying outside the licence and on government land.
“The operator’s performance hinders the efforts made by the directorate to resolve these issues and therefore the request made… cannot be accepted”. Yet Mr Abdilla states discussions with Mepa have resumed and talks were held as recently as Friday to “resolve” the issue. Mepa CEO Johann Buttigieg is on record saying discussions worked better than enforcement and people were being given the chance to come in line.
caroline.muscat@timesofmalta.com